11 Unforgettably Touching Mormon Moments from 2017

Elder Ballard Shares Tender Story of His Granddaughter Passing Away

Elder M. Russell Ballard shared on Facebook this year:

We’re on a journey. We left the spirit world. We left the presence of our Heavenly Parents. Life is not simple. It wasn’t intended to be. People think the Apostles don’t have any trials. We’ve had our problems and challenges.

Years ago, a granddaughter was born with a chromosome imbalance, and we knew she would not live long. My son and I went to his home. We knelt and asked Heavenly Father what we should do. We gave little Sara a blessing. She was 4½ months old. As I was blessing her, I seemed to hear her say, “It’s all right, Grandpa. It’s all right. I’ll be waiting for you.” Where do you find such peace anywhere else on the face of the earth? No other church can give you such assurance.

Our daughter had her beautiful 13-day-old baby girl on her lap sitting in church. Little Emily turned blue. She was rushed to the hospital. She died in my daughter’s arms with a heart issue. Now again, the gospel gave us peace. All that we stand for, all that we declare comes rushing into our lives in situations like this. So we have two beautiful granddaughters on the other side of the veil waiting for us.

On a Monday evening, the phone rang in our home. Our grandson Nate, who had served his mission in Lithuania, Russian-speaking, was gone. The airplane in which he was taking his final test with his instructor went down. Three of our grandchildren are on the other side of the veil.

I’m not telling you this to have you feel sorry for us. I’m telling you this because everyone will experience some trials or challenges in this life. None of us will escape from having to make decisions on how we will live our lives. What are we going to do? When those decisions come, I promise if you will hold on to your testimony of the gospel, it will bind you to your family. You must keep the eternal perspective.